Poll: Muhammad Ali vs Mike Tyson, both in their prime.

[norseamd]

Joe Louis is my favorite boxer of all time.

 

[bradley]

Conclusion: Ali over Mike decisively. It's practically even a joke that we're having this discussion when the facts are laid out like this. Ali beating Foreman puts him to greatest of all time status because Foreman's accomplishments are so astounding. Mike wouldn't have even beaten Foreman, let alone Ali. Ali and Foreman both took huge punches that would have KO'd Mike (and did). For Ali, see the Shavers fight. For Foreman, see the Holyfield fight where Foreman withstood the same direct blows that KO'd Mike.

Most exciting fighter of their respective day would be a tie between the two. And Mike indeed was the most strikingly exciting fighter of his generation albeit amongst a (at times) fairly lackluster field. I do believe some people confuse excitement with greatness. Yet, I still find Ali's fights more enjoyable and competitive.

Shavers is another example of someone who punched as hard as Tyson, and probably would have beaten him.

Anyway, if Tyson was so great, he wouldn't have avoided fights with Riddick Bowe and Foreman. Especially the fight with Foreman would have netted the biggest heavyweight payday of the early 1990s.

Ali's greatness was fully realized compared to Tyson. Ali fought and beat all of that generation's greatest and hardest punchers: George Foreman, Kenny Norton, Joe Frazier, Larry Holmes, Sonny Liston, Earnie Shavers, Leon Spinks and Floyd Patterson, who was also Cus D'Amato trained.

 

[bradley]

I just wanted to correct myself.... Ali was never KOed in his professional career; he was TKOed in the tenth round by Larry Holmes, a corner decision.

Only in Ali's amateur career was he KOed, in his last amateur bout against Kent Green

 

[momeNt]

I just wanted to correct myself.... Ali was never KOed in his professional career; he was TKOed in the tenth round by Larry Holmes, a corner decision.

Only in Ali's amateur career was he KOed, in his last amateur bout against Kent Green

Probably a pretty significant factor in why he got so messed up.

Might have the best pound for pound chin. Sugar Ray Robinson and Jake LaMotta are the only two in my limited knowledge of boxing that I figure are in the conversation with him.

 

[Muse]

I don't put my faith that Ali could dance around Tyson for 10 rounds though. It is basically Russian Roulette. Ali had strong chin, but how many Tyson blows could he brush aside without slowing? People are quick to dismiss Tyson's boxing ability and say he was just some kind of beastmode rage fighter, but he wasn't. Before his divorce and outside the ring troubles (which many believe led to his upset against Douglas), he was incredible.

As his friend/lover Robin IIRC said Tyson was incredibly focused when training for a fight. For Ali he would have especially focused on his aerobic fitness, so he could dance around with Ali and not wear down. I think he would have eventually gotten in his salvo of blows and Ali would have taken some counts, maybe a 10 count.